Meta laid off nearly 4,000 workers in its latest round of job reductions, with some employees receiving positive performance ratings in their midyear reviews last year but being terminated anyway.
The company had announced plans to cut 5% of its staff in January, citing a focus on low performers. However, internal guidance allowed managers to include employees from higher performance tiers if they couldn’t meet reduction targets from lower-rated employees alone.
Employees who received positive ratings but were still let go expressed surprise and frustration at being “blindsided” by the layoffs. They felt that Meta’s public stance on the issue was misleading, as some had previously received strong performance reviews.
The sudden downgrade in performance ratings left many employees feeling misrepresented by Meta’s public narrative on the layoffs. Some worried that being branded as a “low performer” publicly could harm future employment prospects.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has been pushing to streamline the company’s workforce as it pours billions into artificial intelligence and virtual reality. The cuts are expected to become an annual event as Meta seeks to regularly trim its lowest performers.
The company did not respond to a request for comment.
Source: https://www.businessinsider.com/meta-layoffs-surprise-employees-strong-performers-2025-2